After addressing the offense in the last post, today we go to the fun bit: defense. And goalies and FOGOs. But mostly defense. The poles on the Buckeye radar are absolutely fantastic, and it would be hard to ask for a better recruiting pool currently.
FOGOs are deep as well, just less fun, with goalie being completely wide open as the top 2021 option, Adam Blind of Olentangy Liberty, is going to Culver Military Academy for a post-grad year. The breakdowns will be a little more brief in this part, because there's just less to talk about, since D is 90% mental, 8% positioning, and 2% takeaways. Here we go.
First and foremost, the Buckeyes are still looking to replace Freddy Freibott. So they're going after an incredible pole named Jimmy Freehill. Freehill has a ton of ability with the ball in his stick, to the point where he's often on Man Up for his club team. Freehill is a wizard checking opponents' sticks. I saw multiple instances where he literally checked the ball into the air gently to grab before it got the ground.
My only gripes are he's more finesse in a league with a lot of physical dodgers, and he likes to take weird angles on ground all's, which can result in some unnecessary turnovers. But he would be an outstanding addition.
Tyler Kuehl, out of Bullis in Maryland, is another LSM to watch. Since Bullis had such a high profile end to their season last year, Kuehl is on everyone's radar. And that's not without reason. Kuehl has a great check, is aggressive, and can really lay the wood when needed.
Unlike some of the other Buckeye options, Kuehl can throw a devastating body check within the rules. That's quite helpful at the D1 level. Kuehl doesn't have overwhelming stick skills, so he's a bit more average than Freehill in that respect. But Kuehl would be an asset regardless.
Tyler Schwarz, out of Shoreham-Wading River in New York, is perhaps the most complete option for the Buckeyes at LSM. And he is an outstanding player. His twin brother Johnny plays O middie for the team, as well, giving the Buckeyes the opportunity to have another set of twins on the roster after the Mitchell brothers. Schwarz has checks for days.
He can wrap check to dispossess from anywhere. And Schwarz will be aggressive at every opportunity. Tyler is an outstanding prospect who will be covered by everyone, so it will be really interesting to see how much of a look he gives OSU.
Trey Brown, of Belmont Hill on Massachusetts, is an incredibly gifted LSM too. He does it all for his HS and club. He wins faceoffs, covers very shifty middies and attackmen, and generally is a nuisance. Brown has a good, not great, set of checks, but really sets himself apart with his stick in his hands.
Brown scores some really nice goals in transition, adding another element to his game that has been missing from the Buckeye arsenal.
At close D, options expand even further. Evan Bullotta, of Central Bucks East in Pennsylvania, really stands out as a hard-nosed, aggressive defender. He is very capable to staying with attackman who try to dodge him with less than elite rollbacks or splits.
Bullota throws a TON of checks, trying to wear down his man through sheer physicality. And he will bully opposing players right out of the box if they're not careful. Bullotta may be a little less agile than is ideal, but his physicality makes him a linebacker on the field, always looking to have a big hit.
Speaking of hits, Grant Litchfield might be the most physically imposing defenseman in the class. He has not one, but two videos of his hits up on Hudl. And they are bone-crunching. Litchfield is a brawler, and it is awesome to see him play.
It's also painful, because 19 out of 20 hits immediately result in a flag being thrown. Litchfield also plays football, and it really shows. He is out of control more often than not, costing the team penalty minutes, even if his hits are jaw-dropping. If Litchfield can dial it back just a bit, he could be an incredible Buckeye pole.
Gregg Dennison, a pole out of The Rivers School in Massachusetts, has some incredible athletic ability on defense.
He is more than capable of stripping a dodger and going the other way to score on his own. Dennison and Freehill play on the same club team, and could easily form the backbone of the Buckeye D for 4 years in Columbus.
Preston Moderi, another player out of Episcopal School of Dallas in Texas, is also on the radar, although I am not sure how the change of recruiting primaries has affected his status. At any rate, Moderi would be the 3rd ESD pole in a row to matriculate to Ohio State, potentially joining Carson Raney (2019) and Henry Watson (2020 commit) in the scarlet and gray.
Moderi is a nice combination of physical and agile, meaning he can get his body in front of a dodger before shoving them over if things get too close. Moderi can play all three defensive positions, so his versatility would be an exceptional asset to the defense.
This list only scratches the surface on the prospects the Buckeyes are at least kicking the tires on. But I believe these names are the most likely to be pursued hard by the staff, and potentially end up in Columbus.
Moving to FOGOs, it's really looking like a 2-horse race. The Buckeyes took 2 FOGOs in 2019, and won't likely be looking to take more than one. If Ohio State can get their first choice, the heir to Justin Inacio will have already been anointed.
The Buckeyes, and literally everyone else in the country, are chasing after Chase Mullins. Mullins, out of St. Christopher's in Virginia, is an absolute wizard at the X. He has incredible hands, and loves to pop it forward to himself to start the fast break.
It's really hard to describe how good he is. Just know that Mullins is choice number one, and that's who the Buckeyes will be pushing hardest to get committed.
As a "back-up" option, the Buckeyes have been focusing on Anthony Ghobriel. Ghobriel comes with an incredibly high recommendation from the master himself, Greg Gurenlian. Ghobriel is capable of winning the draw in any manner, offensively, defensively, and in a scrum.
He isn't the fastest guy ever, but he's got more speed than Inacio currently does. And Ghobriel has a better than average shot for a FOGO, which could mean that the Buckeyes get a bit more production out of the position.
There are multiple other FOGOs at least getting a look, but these two are going to be the main focus come September 1.
Finally, we come to goalies. This recruiting year, there are a TON of potential netminders, and I will be honest, I don't think the staff even knows who they want to focus on.
There are at least 10 on the radar, and they'll likely only take one. I will highlight the two I think they are most likely to go after early, while stating up front it is anyone's guess who will sign next November.
First and foremost, Matthew Nunes. Yet another Texan, Nunes plays for The Woodlands HS near Houston. A teammate of current 2020 commit Diego Zimmerman, Nunes is something of a brick wall, near as I can tell. Outside, inside, on the crease, it doesn't really matter, Nunes is capable of making the save.
He's incredibly casual about it, too, making insane stops look absolutely routine. He doesn't fill a net like Christian Tomei, but his ability makes him seem about as imposing.
The other front-runner (in my eyes) is Dan Daly. A great goalie out of Wayne Hills HS in New Jersey, Daly was 1st Team All-State as a sophomore. A sophomore!! Watching Daly play, it's easy to see why he was such an accomplished keeper. His style reminds me a lot of a smaller, faster Skylar Wahlund.
Daly is always on the ground. But his hands are lightning quick, and he will snuff out shots from 20 yards all the way to point-blank. Daly is not second in terms of talent, but may be a tad more in demand than Nunes due to location.
In either case, it would be an amazing win for the Buckeyes to snag either of these netminders. Especially as, this far, they have no keeper committed for 2020.
In a perfect world, I end up looking like Nostradamus after these posts, but more than likely we will see a lot of movement on the board.
The timeline is much shorter now, and there are more teams vying for the top talent available. I know there will be lots of commitments, and hopefully we will see another round of blue chip talent headed to Columbus!
